179 research outputs found
A Question of Time
Uses the ambiguous nature of time’s passage in Lórien to discuss the nature of time and timelessness in Middle-earth. Uses Tolkien’s other writings to suggest the symbolic meaning of time in Middle-earth
Capillary electrophoretic separation of herbicidal enantiomers applying ergot alkaloids
Abstract The capillary electrophoretic separation of some herbicidal enantiomers is shown applying 1-allylterguride as chiral selector. Baseline separation is shown for the enantiomers of fluazifop, halossifop and fenoxaprop, whereas the optical isomers of flamprop could be partially resolved. Separation times are short compared to similar analyses, applying HPLC and a terguride chiral stationary phase. The degree of dissociation of the acidic analytes, as well as the amount of methanol present in the background electrolyte, are shown to have a major influence on enantioresolution, as expected form earlier studies. © 1997 Elsevier Science B. V
Reply to Guy et al.: Support for a bottleneck in the 2011 Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak in Germany
In our paper (1), we analyzed isolates from the Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreaks in Germany and France in May to July 2011. We concluded that, although the German outbreak was larger, the German isolates represent a clade within the greater diversity of the French outbreak. We proposed several hypotheses to explain these findings, including that the lineage leading to the German outbreak went through a narrow bottleneck that purged diversity.
Guy et al. (2) report the genomes of eight additional E. coli O104:H4 isolates sampled from the German outbreak. By focusing on the numbers of SNPs in their samples, they suggest that the German outbreak is more diverse than we reported and is similar to the French outbreak.
In fact, Guy et al.’s data (2) strongly support our conclusion that the German outbreak represents a clade within the diversity
Off-Diagonal Elements of the DeWitt Expansion from the Quantum Mechanical Path Integral
The DeWitt expansion of the matrix element M_{xy} = \left\langle x \right|
\exp -[\case{1}{2} (p-A)^2 + V]t \left| y \right\rangle, in
powers of can be made in a number of ways. For (the case of interest
when doing one-loop calculations) numerous approaches have been employed to
determine this expansion to very high order; when (relevant for
doing calculations beyond one-loop) there appear to be but two examples of
performing the DeWitt expansion. In this paper we compute the off-diagonal
elements of the DeWitt expansion coefficients using the Fock-Schwinger gauge.
Our technique is based on representing by a quantum mechanical path
integral. We also generalize our method to the case of curved space, allowing
us to determine the DeWitt expansion of \tilde M_{xy} = \langle x| \exp
\case{1}{2} [\case{1}{\sqrt {g}} (\partial_\mu - i
A_\mu)g^{\mu\nu}{\sqrt{g}}(\partial_\nu - i A_\nu) ] t| y \rangle by use of
normal coordinates. By comparison with results for the DeWitt expansion of this
matrix element obtained by the iterative solution of the diffusion equation,
the relative merit of different approaches to the representation of as a quantum mechanical path integral can be assessed. Furthermore, the
exact dependence of on some geometric scalars can be
determined. In two appendices, we discuss boundary effects in the
one-dimensional quantum mechanical path integral, and the curved space
generalization of the Fock-Schwinger gauge.Comment: 16pp, REVTeX. One additional appendix concerning end-point effects
for finite proper-time intervals; inclusion of these effects seem to make our
results consistent with those from explicit heat-kernel method
Low-frequency vibratory exercise reduces the risk of bone fracture more than walking: a randomized controlled trial
BACKGROUND: Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a new type of exercise that has been increasingly tested for the ability to prevent bone fractures and osteoporosis in frail people. There are two currently marketed vibrating plates: a) the whole plate oscillates up and down; b) reciprocating vertical displacements on the left and right side of a fulcrum, increasing the lateral accelerations. A few studies have shown recently the effectiveness of the up-and-down plate for increasing Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and balance; but the effectiveness of the reciprocating plate technique remains mainly unknown. The aim was to compare the effects of WBV using a reciprocating platform at frequencies lower than 20 Hz and a walking-based exercise programme on BMD and balance in post-menopausal women. METHODS: Twenty-eight physically untrained post-menopausal women were assigned at random to a WBV group or a Walking group. Both experimental programmes consisted of 3 sessions per week for 8 months. Each vibratory session included 6 bouts of 1 min (12.6 Hz in frequency and 3 cm in amplitude with 60° of knee flexion) with 1 min rest between bouts. Each walking session was 55 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of stretching. Hip and lumbar BMD (g·cm(-2)) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and balance was assessed by the blind flamingo test. ANOVA for repeated measurements was adjusted by baseline data, weight and age. RESULTS: After 8 months, BMD at the femoral neck in the WBV group was increased by 4.3% (P = 0.011) compared to the Walking group. In contrast, the BMD at the lumbar spine was unaltered in both groups. Balance was improved in the WBV group (29%) but not in the Walking group. CONCLUSION: The 8-month course of vibratory exercise using a reciprocating plate is feasible and is more effective than walking to improve two major determinants of bone fractures: hip BMD and balance
Creep behaviour of injection-moulded basalt fibre reinforced poly(lactic acid) composites
Standard Model Theory for the FCC-ee Tera-Z stage
The future 100-km circular collider FCC at CERN is planned to operate in one
of its modes as an electron-positron FCC-ee machine. We give an overview
comparing the theoretical status to the experimental demands of one of four
foreseen FCC-ee operating stages, Z-boson resonance energy physics, called the
FCC-ee Tera-Z stage for short. The FCC-ee Tera-Z will deliver the highest
integrated luminosities as well as very small systematic errors for a study of
the Standard Model (SM) with unprecedented precision. In fact, the FCC-ee
Tera-Z will allow the study of at least one more perturbative order in quantum
field theory compared to the LEP/SLC precision. The real problem is that the
present precision of theoretical calculations of the various SM observables
does not match that of the anticipated experimental measurements. The
bottle-necks to overcoming this situation are identified. In particular, the
issues of precise QED unfolding and the correct calculation of SM
pseudo-observables are critically reviewed. In an Executive Summary, we specify
which basic theoretical calculations are needed to meet the strong experimental
expectations at the FCC-ee Tera-Z. Several methods, techniques and tools needed
for higher-order multi-loop calculations are presented. By inspection of the
Z-boson partial and total decay width analyses, it is argued that at the
beginning of operation of the FCC-ee Tera-Z, the theory predictions may be
tuned to be precise enough not to limit the physics interpretation of the
measurements. This statement is based on anticipated progress in analytical and
numerical calculations of multi-loop and multi-scale Feynman integrals and on
the completion of two-loop electroweak radiative corrections to the SM
pseudo-observables this year. However, the above statement is conditional as
the theoretical issues demand a very dedicated and focused investment by the
community.Comment: Published versio
Outbreaks of virulent diarrheagenic Escherichia coli - are we in control?
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are the most virulent diarrheagenic E. coli known to date. They can be spread with alarming ease via food as exemplified by a large sprout-borne outbreak of STEC O104:H4 in 2011 that was centered in northern Germany and affected several countries. Effective control of such outbreaks is an important public health task and necessitates early outbreak detection, fast identification of the outbreak vehicle and immediate removal of the suspected food from the market, flanked by consumer advice and measures to prevent secondary spread
Formation of Amyloid-Like Fibrils by Y-Box Binding Protein 1 (YB-1) Is Mediated by Its Cold Shock Domain and Modulated by Disordered Terminal Domains
YB-1, a multifunctional DNA- and RNA-binding nucleocytoplasmic protein, is involved in the majority of DNA- and mRNA-dependent events in the cell. It consists of three structurally different domains: its central cold shock domain has the structure of a β-barrel, while the flanking domains are predicted to be intrinsically disordered. Recently, we showed that YB-1 is capable of forming elongated fibrils under high ionic strength conditions. Here we report that it is the cold shock domain that is responsible for formation of YB-1 fibrils, while the terminal domains differentially modulate this process depending on salt conditions. We demonstrate that YB-1 fibrils have amyloid-like features, including affinity for specific dyes and a typical X-ray diffraction pattern, and that in contrast to most of amyloids, they disassemble under nearly physiological conditions
Frequent high-level expression of the immunotherapeutic target Ep-CAM in colon, stomach, prostate and lung cancers
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (Ep-CAM; CD326) is used as a target by many immunotherapeutic approaches, but little data are available about Ep-CAM expression in major human malignancies with respect to level, frequency, tumour stage, grade, histologic tumour type and impact on survival. We analysed by immunohistochemical staining tissue microarrays with 4046 primary human carcinoma samples from colon, stomach, prostate and lung cancers for both frequency and intensity of Ep-CAM expression under highly standardised conditions. A total of 3360 samples were analysable. High-level Ep-CAM expression was observed in 97.7% (n=1186) of colon, 90.7% of gastric (n=473), and 87.2% of prostate cancers (n=414), and in 63.9% of lung cancers (n=1287). No detectable Ep-CAM staining was found with only 0.4% of colon, 2.5% of gastric, 1.9% of prostate cancers, and 13.5% of lung cancers. The only significant correlation of Ep-CAM expression with tumour grading was observed in colon cancer where high-level Ep-CAM expression on grade 3 tumours was down to 92.1% (P<0.0001). Adenosquamous and squamous carcinomas of the lung had a lower percentage of high-level Ep-CAM expression compared to adenocarcinomas with 35.4 and 53.6%, respectively, and with 45.5 and 17.3% of tumours being Ep-CAM negative. With the exception of moderately differentiated colon carcinoma, where patients not expressing Ep-CAM on their tumours showed an inferior survival (P=0.0014), correlation of Ep-CAM expression with survival did not reach statistical significance for any of the other cancer indications and subgroups. In conclusion, the data strongly support the notion that Ep-CAM is a prime target for immunotherapies in major human malignancies. This is because the most common human cancers show (i) a low frequency of Ep-CAM-negative tumours, (ii) a high frequency of Ep-CAM expression on cells of a given tumour, and (iii) for most cancers, an insignificant influence of tumour staging, grading and histology on Ep-CAM expression
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